Milestones: The Roadtrip Kind & The Baby Kind

Backyard Bathtime

 It's like a three-ring circus around here.  In this ring we have a baby who can pull herself up to stand and even cruise around the coffee table.  In this ring we have a baby who responds to words (like waving every time someone says "hi" or "bye", wiggling your fingers when we say "tickle" and waving your hand in your face when we say "stinky").  And in this ring we have a baby who gives kisses...albeit "backward" kisses...that end up more like spitting than kissing, but who's complaining?  And all of these babies are you!  You also are trying to repeat just about every one-word sentence we say ("Ouch", "Yum", "Oops", etc.).  All of your efforts sound similar.  Kind of like grunts or gurgles in your throat, but I know what you're trying to do and praise you like crazy!  You are eating it up.  You also clap now with open hands.  It even makes a noise!  Every time we say "Good girl" or "Yay, Finnlee", you start clapping away.  You can even point your itty bitty finger.  And you do it at every opportunity.  I have no intention of telling you that it's not polite to point anytime soon.  It's milestone city around here.  You must have found a copy of "What to Expect: The First Year" lying around the house and you're checking off the list one thing at a time.  Go, you!

This is my attempt to make you love your baths again.

I hope it's working.

Last weekend was kind of a big deal.  Mommy and Daddy never miss a Dave Matthews concert, as you'll soon find out.  This year was a bit different.  Kylee was going to get to see her first Dave show, and I was apprehensive about leaving you for such a long time, so we decided I would stay at the hotel and have your dad facetime me from the show instead.  We broke up the drive with a stop at Sawgrass Mall, but you handled the long drive like roadtrippin' is in your blood.  This makes me very happy.  We have some traveling in mind next year, once we buy a new car.  The trip itself wasn't without incident.  Sydney woke up sick Friday night, and I came down with a fever and migraine Saturday evening.  Why can't we just take a normal trip?  For the most part, it was an enjoyable family weekend spent eating, shopping and swimming.  And lots of rest and recuperation.  Sounds good to me!

First carousel ride.

Shopping for birthday party straws.

Great advice from a random sign.

Gelato with this cutie.

You are trying to dress yourself!

Swimming with Daddy at the hotel.

It's been crazy hot here lately, and even the beach has been humid.  That hasn't kept us away though.  We're fitting in sunsets and beach days where we can.  The school year is creeping up on us and I feel the need to make some solid summer memories before it's too late.  Time goes too quickly.  I'm starting to feel anxious about all of the things we still haven't done this summer.  It's possible that tomorrow we could end up making homemade ice cream while wearing face paint and hosting a lemonade stand beside our carwash and slip-n-slide party, after which we will take a nature walk with our cameras and check out the spot at the airport I've been wanting to see, while sitting in a kiddie pool.  Yeah, summer is just too short.

Aaah...feels like home.

You won't leave hats on anymore, and it's a shame.

Digging a massive hole

Surfer Girl

See?  Huge hole!

Steamy sunset beach run.

You and Daddy, checking out the water.

On top of not accomplishing everything I plan on doing during summer vacation, every day I have good intentions of coming here to write a post.  I really do.  I even start to compose it in my mind.  But when I look at this empty page, my mind goes blank.  I try to run through all of the amazing things you are doing and keep a better record for you.  But lately the last thing I want to do is sit down at a computer.  Keeping up with you is a full-time job.  You refuse to be contained and are into everything.  You also happen to be the cutest, funniest, most amusing little squirt.  I just want to watch you and play with you all day.  Naptime is the only time I get anything accomplished, but that's usually laundry and unloading the dishwasher and vacuuming...you know, the stuff your dad would notice if I wasn't doing.  You are climbing and scooting every waking moment (today at Target I turned around to find you backwards and on your knees in the cart, but strapped in of course, reaching for things in the back! Monkey!!).  Finding time to write a blog post hasn't been easy.  I also have been using my phone more and more for taking pictures.  I never thought I would take less pictures with my camera, but it's been happening.  I still love my camera, of course, but I don't even always have it on hand anymore.  Crazy!  I've started using Instagram as almost a daily journal of sorts to document what we've been up to.  I find that I am liking it more than I expected to.  I have no intention of abandoning this blog.  Or even neglecting it.  I just need to figure out how to reconcile my usual ways of keeping tabs on you.  One day I'll try a blog post from my phone with camera pics and see how that looks. I know...first world problems.  

You are looking "big" these days. 

Oh and teeth.  The next few weeks look promising in the way of teeth developments.  You seem to be (finally!) getting your first tooth.  It was dad who noticed the white, hard spot on your top gum.  It is suspiciously off to the side...not centered at all.  So either you are getting your teeth in a very unconventional order, or you may have an interesting smile for a while.  Or maybe it will all sort itself out once it comes in.  Only time will tell.  Also, Sydney (finally!) has her first loose tooth.  What is it with you girls and your tooth delays?  I decided to show her which teeth she should lose first and wiggled the lower two, and lo and behold, she had a slightly wiggly one already. She's so excited.  


So I should soon have tales of Tooth Fairy visits and teething nightmares.  Of standing solo and eventually a first step.  I'm sure there will be much more adventurous food choices once you are able to chew.  And baby gates blocking the hallways once you are fully mobile.  Let's not rush it though.  You might be trying to pull away and assert some independence, but I am soaking up these days when you still need to be carried.  When you pull off shoes and get angry when I put them on in the first place.  When you would rather nurse than try a bite of my blueberry.  I recently read something I thought was pretty profound, and it was basically reminding me that I should not mourn the waning of your babyhood, but should realize that if you stayed little, I would never get to experience the rest of the amazing stuff to come.  I'd never see you take those first steps, or tell me about your first day of school, or wear your first pigtails, or pick out your first prom dress.  I will do my best to think of these milestones in this way.  And until then, I will snap away like crazy with my camera (and phone, apparently) so that we never forget a single detail.  Goodnight little monkey.  I'm so lucky to be able to say that we will do this all again tomorrow.